Various catalysts are used for promoting chemical reactions in petroleum refining equipment, chemical industrial equipment and the like. For instance, a catalyst is formulated in granules and loaded inside a reactor in which a material fluid is circulated.
In order to load the catalyst, a catalyst loading device of a rotary spread type is used (Patent Literature 1: JP-A-8-281094).
The catalyst loading device of Patent Literature 1 includes a spreader to be introduced into the reactor from an upper opening thereof.
The spreader includes a dispersion rotor at a lower end of a cylindrical shaft. The dispersion rotor is configured to flow out a catalyst fed in the shaft. In this arrangement, by rotating the spreader, the catalyst flowed out from the dispersion rotor can be scattered to near an outer circumference of the reactor to be broadly dispersed in the reactor.
With use of such a catalyst loading device, the catalyst can be efficiently loaded into the reactor under suitable conditions.
The above-described catalyst granules are partially cut or broken by mutual collision and the like in delivery to generate catalyst powders. In the above spreader, in addition to mutual collision of the catalyst granules when declining in the cylindrical shaft, the catalyst granules strongly hit each other when spread from the dispersion rotor, so that catalyst powders are generated.
Such catalyst powders are loaded together with the original catalyst granules and accumulated between the catalyst granules. Consequently, even though the catalyst is loaded in the reactor under suitable conditions, the catalyst powders are likely to be clogged in a gap between the catalyst granules to cause disadvantages such as generation of a differential pressure and generation of an uneven flow.
Moreover, the catalyst powders may leak outside the reactor or the catalyst loading device, which entails an environmental problem.
Further, a worker working in the reactor may suffer a health problem, so that a strict countermeasure for protecting the worker is required.